George Clooney on the Trail of Art Stolen by Nazis

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George Clooney's putting together his next triple-threat project, writing, directing and starring in a film about the hunt for art pilfered by Nazis all across Europe during the Second World War.

Clooney, along with longtime collaborator Grant Heslov, is adapting "The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History," reported The Wrap.

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“It’s a fun movie because it could be big entertainment. It’s a big budget, you can’t do it small -- it’s landing in Normandy," said Clooney.

The Monuments Men had a mandate from President Roosevelt and the support of General Eisenhower, but no vehicles, gasoline, typewriters, or authority. In a race against time to save the world’s greatest cultural treasures from destruction at the hands of Nazi fanatics, each man gathered scraps and hints to construct his own treasure map using records recovered from bombed cathedrals and museums, the secret notes and journals of Rose Valland, a French museum employee who secretly tracked Nazi plunder through the rail yards of Paris, and even a tip from a dentist during a root canal.

It's hard not to ponder this film as a big-budget spectacle and not imagine it being a star-filled "Ocean's"-esque romp with a message, which, hey, sure... why not?

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And when he's not busy working on "Monuments," he can start work on his awards season acceptance speech, as he's sure to get at least a few nominations for for "Ides of March" and/or "The Descendants."

Published at 10:07 AM EST on Jan 9, 2012 | Updated at 2:44 PM EDT on May 30, 2012